North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told the Supreme People’s Assembly that Pyongyang will make its nuclear capability permanent and regard South Korea as its most hostile adversary. State media reported Kim as saying that only overwhelming strength can safeguard the nation’s dignity and interests, and that the country will keep building an irreversible position as a nuclear-armed state.
Lawmakers approved a 2026 state budget that increases defense outlays to about 15.8% of total spending. Kim again rejected proposals to trade away weapons in exchange for security guarantees, countering a longtime demand from Washington.
In his address he blamed the United States for what he described as global aggression, using tensions in the US–Israel–Iran context to argue that force can trump international norms. He told opponents they can either confront North Korea or seek peaceful coexistence, and said Pyongyang is prepared to respond to either path.
South Korean analysts say the speech underscores Pyongyang’s belief that nuclear arms deter outside intervention. Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korea Studies said the current international environment strengthens North Korea’s long-standing view that nuclear weapons are essential to the regime’s survival.
The remarks came after Kim was reappointed chair of the State Affairs Commission, the country’s top policymaking body, and a two-day session of the Supreme People’s Assembly ended with the passage of a revised constitution. Observers expect changes that remove language about shared nationhood with the South and recast the Republic of Korea as a permanent enemy.
Seoul’s Blue House criticized Kim’s declaration that the South is “the most hostile state,” calling such rhetoric harmful to prospects for peaceful coexistence on the peninsula.